Misconceptions
by dragonsunlight
Summary: “I’ll never understand girls.” Takuya doesn’t know the truth of the statement until he accuses Izumi of lying. It all comes down to this simple misconception to make things topsy turvy. TakuyaxIzumi Note: Will be undergoing some reconstruction
1. Accusations

Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon. If I did, Kouichi would show up in a Digimon Frontier Movie of his own, and…and…and everything else would be a disaster.

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Misconceptions

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Summary: "I'll never understand girls." Takuya doesn't know the truth of the statement until he accuses Izumi of lying. It all comes down to this simple misconception to make things topsy-turvy. (TakuyaxIzumi)

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Part 1: Accusations

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Takuya's hand immediately fell on the snooze button. It was 7:29 AM. Another second, he wagered, and the alarm would go ringing off. His thumb pressed on the snooze button continuously, and the rest of his fingers gripped the side of the alarm clock for support.

_Think videogames_, Takuya thought. _Be happy_, he thought.

Hadn't he been happy? It had been six months since they had endured the adventures of the Digital World. To mark the joyous event, hadn't _he_ been the one who organized the 'Bi-Annual Digi-World' celebration?

There was something lacking, something he had been waiting for. They talked on the phone, and they e-mailed each other often, but Takuya figured he just missed seeing them.

_There's more_, a voice in the back of his mind insisted. _Remember Izumi? Remember her promise?_

7:30 AM.

His hand fell to the side of the alarm clock, immobile as it began to ring loudly. Takuya's half-lidded eyes fell shut.

Today was exactly six months since that day. Today at nine, they would be meeting at the arcade at eight. Today, he would finally speak to Izumi, the same Izumi that had been the only one who had avoided him for these six long months. The same Izumi who had promised him…

Takuya's hand rose, and violently slammed down on the snooze button. He threw the covers off his body and sat up, eyes open. "Shut…UP!" he scowled, holding the alarm in his hand and hitting the snooze button over and over again. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP-!"

"MOM!" Shinya shouted, "TAKUYA'S GOING CRAZY!!!"

"I AM NOT!" Takuya returned, feeling energized and ready. It was just another day. But the opportunity was here, and he was going to seize it.

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Takuya had been the first one there, bright and early, ready for anything. As the arcade only opened at eight, he even helped the new part-time worker open up, clean all the tables, and warmed up on the games free of charge. Kouji and Kouichi had been the next to arrive, and as usual, competition flared between the Kanbara and the Minamoto, and for the next ten minutes, while waiting on Tomoki, Junpei and Izumi, Takuya and Kouji went from machine to machine, trying to beat each other's high scores.

Junpei arrived next and immediately went to the food corner to order his breakfast, or so he claimed. Tomoki had joined him shortly after the young boy had arrived himself, and they all sat down (save Kouji and Takuya) for a small snack.

Perhaps a good twenty minutes past eight, Izumi had arrived. Takuya had immediately sacrificed any chance of a high score and dashed towards her, but she just walked past him and grabbed both the twins, then dragged them to the other side of the room.

For the second time that day, Takuya felt drained of all vitality. After ordering a soda, he sat down beside Tomoki and turned around to watch Izumi.

He watched her flirt freely with the others. Kouji, usually reserved, opened up easily to Izumi, while his twin tried to shirk away from the conversation, blushing madly.

"They're a bunch of liars," Takuya muttered under his breath.

Tomoki heard him and looked up in surprise. "Takuya!" he gasped in disbelief. The older brother figure that Takuya represented seemed to crumble before his eyes with that last comment.

The goggle boy realized this and narrowed the subject down: "I mean _girls_," he clarified. "Either all of them, or…or just Izumi."

Relief seemed to radiate from Tomoki. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Only because it's the truth!" He let out a huff and rose to his feet. His eyes were glued to the twins and Izumi who were now laughing as they sat at their table behind the 'Space Monkeys' machine. "Well I'm not taking it anymore!" Takuya declared, slamming his hand on the tabletop. Tomoki quickly grabbed his drink and pulled it close for fear it would spill otherwise. "I'm going to get a different…" The brown-haired boy stopped, noticing that Izumi's eyes were on him, that she was just standing a few feet away and the twins were making their way over.

"Different what?" Junpei asked, slurping loudly on his soda. He was seated at the table just behind Tomoki.

"Different…er…different obsession! Yeah…er…fire is a bit old, would you say, Tomoki?" He turned helplessly towards the younger boy, trying to think of a way to get himself out of the mess.

Having eavesdropped the entire time (Izumi refused to speak with Junpei after he had nearly broken her new bracelet) and understanding Takuya's intended words, Junpei asked slyly, "Is _fire_ in _general_ old, or is that _certain_ fire too old?"

Takuya began to sputter. "Wh-what are you talking about?" he exclaimed indignantly.

A look of remembrance flashed on Izumi's face. "That's right! Takuya-" she began.

"_What_?" he snapped, looking flustered.

Shocked, Izumi shut her mouth and looked away. "Nothing," she returned haughtily.

He scowled, and knowing full well she couldn't see, stuck his tongue out at the girl childishly. Takuya then turned around and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm going home!"

"Oh, just leave, you big baby!" Izumi shouted, hands now clenched by her sides.

Takuya turned around in shock. "_Baby_?" he repeated slowly. Then, after a pause: "At least I'm not some pampered sissy!"

"At least I have a brain!"

"At least I have some fashion sense! Stripes are for sissies!"

Izumi gasped. "What does my _clothing_ have anything to do with this? And _no one_ wears goggles! They look lame!"

"Not as lame as you!" Takuya retorted.

Having had enough, Izumi looked him in the eye, her face bright red with embarrassment. "Takuya Kanbara," she said in a low voice, "I _hate _you."

"The feeling is mu-what?" Takuya asked incredulously. "_You_ have _no_ reason to hate me!"

"I could list several!"

"Well I have more reasons to hate you, you stuck up _liar_!" Takuya declared with a scowl plainly visible on his face, "and you're not worth the effort of reciting them!"

"Kouji, would you please tell Goggle-brain he's a waste of flesh and bone?"

"Kouichi, please tell the girl she's…she's…she's _ugly_, and I never liked her!" Takuya spat angrily. "I'm going home!!" he yelled, spinning around and dashing off.

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"Shinya, who is it?" Takuya asked glumly, hearing his brother pick up the phone. He had intended for it to go ringing off into oblivion. He himself was too busy to pick it; videogames had priority over everything, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with silly telemarketers.

The eight-and-a-half-year-old boy responded, "Kouji says Izumi wants an apology."

"Takuya says she can ask herself," the goggle boy snapped, returning his attention to the videogame at hand. Never had he taken Izumi as just another person. If she was going to treat him like trash, he just wouldn't hear her.

Shinya conveyed the message. A minute later, he shouted, "Kouji says she says you have to first!"

He frowned and paused the game. With middlemen, it always got confusing. "Shinya, bring the phone over here." His brother obliged and Takuya held the phone to his ear. "Ahh…Izumi, you can apologize now." Takuya un-paused the game, a victorious smirk on his face. He was winning two battles at once: one on the phone, one on the TV. No one else was so talented.

"Takuya, she meant you have to apologize yourself first," came Kouji's dry response.

"The _hell_?" Takuya exclaimed, although he knew fully well what she had meant. "She has to ask herself, or I'm not apologizing myself!"

"I don't know, Takuya. She's being stubborn…" Kouji's voice trailed off, and there were incoherent whispers on the other end.

"Call her a mule."

More whispers. Then: "Takuya, she just called you more names. Just apologize! Is it that hard?"

"She has to ask for an apology herself," the goggle-boy repeated vehemently.

Whispers. The whispers were driving him crazy. A thought suddenly entered Takuya's head, and before he could stop himself, he was red with rage and hissing into the telephone, "Is she at…_your_ place…?"

There was silence. Then more whispers and mutters filled the other end with noise that was barely clear enough for Takuya to make out.

"_Why_…" The rest of what Kouichi said was droned out in whispered.

He could hear Kouji snort, but only made out a few words. "…_know_. _Really_…_ridiculous_…"

"Hello?" Takuya spat.

"No, Takuya," Kouji sighed. The sigh was one of exasperation, a sigh that had come many times before as a sign that Takuya was tiring the bandana-headed boy out. "She called Kouichi's cell and I'm on my cell talking to you," he informed the boy.

"Oh," replied Takuya dumbly.

Kouji then asked tentatively, "Are you mad at her?"

For a while Takuya was silent, unable to decide on whether to tell the truth or not. However, after a few long seconds, he decided Kouji would know the truth anyway, and so, he drew a breath. "Make sure the other phone is far away," Takuya warned. He assumed Kouji respected his wishes by the same, exasperated sigh he breathed again. "Alright…_yes_, I'm mad at her," Takuya confessed sheepishly.

"_Moron_. Why?" Kouji asked, sounding indifferent.

"Because…you _know_…before we beat up Cherubimon, she _promised_ to take me on a date!!! Well, _how_ long has it been?"

Kouji paused before answering. "Six months…" he mumbled, understanding Takuya's agitation a bit better now.

"Exactly!"

"We have lives unlike you," the other boy proclaimed. "We study, we don't sit in front of the TV and play videogames all day long. I'm sure Izumi has her reasons."

Takuya made a whining sound. "But she hasn't brought it up even _once_!" the goggle-boy insisted.

"You haven't either," Kouji remarked pointedly. "Maybe she forgot."

"Girls shouldn't forget things like that! And she hasn't called me once!"

"Then _remind_ her! Don't argue with me! I bet you didn't even try to call her."

The goggle-boy bit his lip and then mumbled, "Well maybe I didn't…but…"

Another one of _those_ sighs. "What, Takuya?" Kouji snapped. The conversation was wearing his patience down.

"See, she's still mad at me, so she won't talk to me, right? I can't exactly remind her anymore," Takuya explained.

Again, Kouji made him sound dumb: "Then _apologize_."

"But-"

"Kouichi, hang up!" he heard Kouji order. "Let them sort it out themselves. _Goodbye_, Takuya," Kouji added sourly. "Please, don't worry about us."

Takuya scowled, hearing the _click_ of Kouji hanging up. _That jerk_, he thought angrily, tossing the phone to his side. _I'll bet he wants to go out with Izumi himself! That's why_…

"Takuya, you just killed yourself!" Shinya scowled, pointing to the TV screen. "What an amateur mistake!"

"What a big mouth!" Takuya retorted, glaring at his brother. He put down the controller. "Do you even _know_ what that means?"

Shinya opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out. Instead, seeing his older brother smirk, the young Kanbara declared, "At least I apologize to girls!" And then, fearing for his life, he dashed out of the room as fast as his feet would carry him.

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The phone was ringing, much to his annoyance. Takuya pulled the pillow over his ears. _No more,_ he prayed. _Stop calling, you stupid telemarketers_!

His parents had gone out for the night to some party or another at one of their friends' houses. As usual, Takuya left his brother to the television and warned him not to destroy anything. Shinya could listen if he really wanted to; it was a pity he didn't listen more often.

So Takuya wandered to his bedroom and did his best to sleep, but found himself unable to even close his eyes. Eyes half-lidded, he gazed at the ceiling endlessly, trying not to hear the ringing phone.

'_Fire_!' came a high, squeaky voice. Takuya sat up in his bed, wide-awake now. "Cell phone," he told himself, searching around his room. He finally found the phone ringing '_Fire_!' in the same high, squeaky voice, until he flipped it open and answered with a frantic, "Hello?" _Please, be Izumi_!

"Where are you? We called your house ten times already! No one picked up!" snapped Kouji on the other end.

Patience drained out of his system. "I was _trying_ to fall asleep!"

"It's only _eight_, Takuya. You sleep at _eleven_, and usually it's eleven in the morning, not even at night."

"What's the deal with you calling me at eight? Don't _you_ usually sleep at seven?"

"I sleep at _ten_!" Kouji hissed. Then, calmer, he told the goggle-head, "Call to Digital World."

"Now?" Takuya was taken aback. "I didn't get any message," he said, holding his phone away and looking at the dimmed screen before confirming the statement. "Did you?" he asked Kouji.

"Er…no, but…um, Tomoki and Junpei did," Kouji said hesitantly. "And…er…so did Izumi."

At the girl's name, Takuya fell silent and replied with a small "oh."

"Don't get so down! We need you!" Kouji snapped. "Can you get out?"

"My parents left a while ago. If I go, Shinya'll be home alone. And he'll _know_ even if I sneak out. He's perfectly addicted to the TV when I'm here, but if I leave…then…he'll sue me or something crazy," Takuya muttered.

Silence grew between them, but Takuya could practically hear Kouji thinking. Slowly, the bandana boy suggested, "Bring him over…Satomi and Dad can watch him."

"Are you sure-" Takuya stopped to hear the conversation on the other end.

"_What do you mean you're going out?_" Kouji asked, trying to keep his voice low so Takuya wouldn't hear.

Kouji's father answered, but the man really did mumble, so all Takuya heard was, "_…invited_…_you can stay here_."

Takuya frowned, easily piecing together the situation. "Kouji, maybe your mom…?"

"No fair," Kouji muttered. "I have to skip Mom's cookie night for the Digital World, and Shinya gets to indulge…"

"Is…that a yes?"

Kouji let out an annoyed sigh. "Alright," he said irritably. "Hurry up, though! I don't want to see him lay a hand on those cookies until I'm out!"

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A/N-

Edit #1: Beginning lengthened. Phone calls edited.

Wow, I'm writing a Takumi again. It'll only be a few chapters long. Maybe three? I really just want to work on developing the idea more than making it a one-shot. Anybody can make a one-shot, but developing the idea to make something greater is a bit difficult, I think. So I'll change this chapter later on with a few edits hopefully, and put up the next.

Review or PM or Flame if you'd like. Criticism would be beneficial.


	2. Slight Awakenings

Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon. Perhaps if I did, Kouji Wada would have never sung the Opening themes. However, if I did own Digimon as Savers started, he would have sung all the songs for sure.

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Part 2: Slight Awakenings

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"Thanks, Ms. Kimura!" Takuya said. "I'll be back…in…" He trailed off, unsure of what time he would get back himself. Twenty minutes? Thirty? It could take an hour for all he cared. Takuya was going back to the Digital World. His troubles would soon be far away. "Soon…?" he mumbled, but his mind was elsewhere.

Kouji looked reluctant to leave. His eyes slipped shut and a groan escaped him as he trudged to the kitchen. "One…just _one_ cookie," he swore. Takuya didn't see, but he assumed Kouji had several cookies before he came out seconds later, Kouichi right behind him. The older twin just smiled, seeing Takuya's confusion hang heavily in the air.

"Kouji's got a big sweet tooth. But don't worry. We can come back and celebrate at my house. There'll be some cookies left," he promised, waving first to his mother, then to Shinya. "Right, Shinya?"

The little boy sucked in air through his teeth, contemplating the matter. "I don't know…"

"Need persuasion?" Kouji growled.

"No need. He has to leave us some cookies if he doesn't want to die of embarrassment," Takuya said matter-of-factly.

"Oh?"

He knew the twins were waiting for him to reveal the secret, but Takuya couldn't do much else but smile. "Bye, Shinya. We'll be back for those cookies." He shut the door (as the twins were too dumbfounded by the pale form of Shinya) and let out a cackle, hearing the faintest sound of his brother's squeaky reply.

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They had made it on the third-to-last shuttle of the day. Junpei in his infinite wisdom proclaimed that the shuttles ran every fifteen minutes, and as their previous adventure had lasted less than five minutes in the real world, they would be perfectly safe.

"By the way," Takuya suddenly commented as they took their elevator to the last floor, "Why didn't the twins or me get any message?" His question was directed more towards Junpei and Tomoki, but Izumi, who had been trying to keep invisible, was the one who started at the statement.

Her eyes fell on Takuya quizzically. "I didn't get anything," she told him, and he could do little to argue despite his grudge against her. Instead, the two ignored each other and turned to Kouji, who did his best not to look at either of them.

"Kouji, you told me Izumi got a signal!" Takuya declared, his voice rising with each word. The elevator doors now opened, and Kouji quickly stepped out, avoiding the gazes of everyone. The goggle boy, refusing to go down easily, snapped the boy's name out one last time.

"Junpei and _Tomoki_ got the signal," Kouji finally said, turning around and looking exasperated. "By the time they called me and Kouichi, _Kouichi_ got a signal. I found that about two seconds after I told you _Izumi_ got a signal, but I figured it would stick in your head more if it was the first way." He drew a breath and pointed to the first train he saw, a deep blue train. "I'm going in that train with Kouichi. Tomoki, Junpei, you take that train-" –Kouji pointed to the train next to the first one- "And Izumi and Takuya…you two pick whatever train. Ready? Go."

There wasn't much time to clarify anything. Kouichi, Tomoki and Junpei pushed their way out of the elevator quickly to avoid speaking with Takuya and Izumi. The two were left alone, standing side by side at the threshold of the elevator until Takuya took a hesitant step forward.

"Shall we…go?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah…" came the dull response. Looking closer, Takuya found Izumi's eyes looking off into the distance. They were oddly discolored from what he remembered them to be…

_She looks really dead_. _Maybe it's the light_, Takuya decided, seizing a hold of her hand and dragging her down the steps toward the red train on the opposite side of the platform from Kouji's train. "Come on, then!"

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_What should I do…?_ Izumi sent a hesitant glance to the goggle boy, who sat across from her. One hand was resting on the top of the seat, another rested by his side. Occasionally his fingers would travel back and forth along the hard seats, then drop back down. She caught glimpses of him removing his goggles, running a hand through his hair, doing small, insignificant things that just proved how restless he was. She sighed. The boredom finally got to her.

Takuya noticed this. He must of. He looked up briefly, and their eyes met, if only for a second, before falling down to look at their shoes.

"I'm…sorry…?"

"Sorry?" Izumi looked up, frowning. After registering what he had said, she asked, "Are you sorry, or are you not sure if you're sorry?" She made sure to say it slowly. Izumi knew the boy was impulsive and block-brained (although the latter was more of an opinion).

"I'm sorry," Takuya corrected himself.

Despite all the things she wanted to say, all Izumi could muster was a barely audible, "oh," before they fell back into a short, but deep lapse of silence.

Again, Takuya was the one to break it. "So…I hear you're mad at Junpei…"

Her eyes darted up to meet his. For some reason she couldn't explain, she had to make an excuse, so she did: "He asked me out about this time last week. Things weren't working out, so I pretended to break my bracelet and be mad at him," said Izumi, a hand rising to her blond hair and falling just as quickly. Looking into the next compartment, she said softly, "He's more like a brother than a boyfriend…"

"Junpei?"

"I think that's why I don't connect with him in a romantic sense." She looked at the goggle boy to find he was nodding, slowly and thoughtfully. _He probably doesn't understand or care_, Izumi concluded.

He inhaled loudly and rose to his feet as the train slowed to a stop. Takuya made a start for the door before something hit him. A scowl settled on his features as he turned to Izumi, looking slightly annoyed. "Any idea what we're looking for?" he asked her.

Izumi's mouth opened, and her face contorted in disbelief. Words wouldn't come out, but words weren't what Takuya needed to make sense of the situation.

"That moron," he muttered in annoyance, sulking towards the door. "This is why _I'm_ leader…"

"_You_?" Izumi blurted, rising to her feet. "_Leader_?" She laughed sharply and then scoffed, "Oh, you're a _great_ leader…"

"You think _otherwise_?" Takuya asked in disbelief. He whirled around to face her as they exited the trailmon.

"You couldn't lead a mouse!"

"A little 'thanks' would be appreciated," the trailmon rumbled.

"Be _quiet_," the two humans snapped before continuing their bickering.

"Can't get any appreciation these days…" The trailmon just sighed, and the whistle sounded. "Good luck, lovebirds!" he called out over the engine as he rolled away.

Takuya and Izumi fell silent, looking after the trailmon, then at each other when the digimon was far off.

"Look! You made us seem rude!" Izumi suddenly snapped.

Takuya's eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw dropped. "What gave _you_ the nerve to accuse _me_ of this? You're at fault too!" he insisted.

"I said it a second after you! I was going to yell at you to be grateful," Izumi said, then stopped, as the words were failing to exit her mouth properly. "I…I was going to!"

The boy snorted derisively and pulled out his D-Tector. "Be quiet, then. I need to call Kouichi."

"Oh? Well…" Izumi fished for her own D-Tector and pulled it out of her bag that hung at her side. "Well…! I need to call Kouji!"

They both pressed the button at the same time, and then yelled the twins' names as loud as they could. It came out mingled…horribly mingled:

"_Kouiji!_"

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"This is bad," Kouji murmured. "Very, very bad." He began pacing back and forth across the grass for a short distance, despite the length of the valley that the grass stretched up to, slowly disappearing into a thick forest. A slight breeze was blowing, but Kouji didn't feel it. "This is bad, bad, bad…"

Now Tomoki had always been slightly afraid of Kouji, especially when he first met the boy. The younger boy regarded Kouji as a most wondrous person, just not completely social. Even as they went along through their journeys, Tomoki found it difficult to approach Kouji, and would only do so with extreme caution.

Now was one of those times when he had to think everything through before saying anything. Kouji was pacing back and forth, echoing himself over and over.

"Bad, bad, bad…horribly terrible…"

Junpei scowled. "What's wrong with him?" he asked the older twin, not bothering to whisper.

Looking pained himself, Kouichi lifted a basket the others hadn't noticed before. "You see," he began, "Kouji felt a bit guilty that he blew up on Izumi and Takuya earlier today, so I suggested we have a picnic."

"Makes sense. We didn't really do much after Takuya left…just listened to Izumi rambling on…and on…and…" Junpei let out a sigh. "I'm kind of glad I'm not dating her…" His gaze fell on Kouji as he said this.

By now, Kouji had stopped in his tracks and fallen silent. "Dating…?" he murmured aloud. Then, a smirk transformed his face, and he was looking up confidently. "That's it!"

Kouichi lifted the basket in his hands. "You mean I can stop carrying this now?"

His twin brother just grinned, displaying his teeth all too well. "Don't worry, we don't have to wait for those two. We _tried_ stopping them when they boarded the train on the other side of the platform. Obviously, that would take them to the other side of the digital world. But then, they thought there was trouble…"

"So…is this part of your plan?" Tomoki squeaked.

"Of course not," Kouji snapped. "When I said we'd split up, I thought they would have some sense to stay close by in case. But obviously not."

"That's why you _don't_ tell lies," said Junpei. He gazed grumpily at the basket in Kouichi's hands. "You know, I'm getting hungry…"

Kouichi let out an impatient sigh. "And you never answered _my_ question, Kouji. Can I put this down?"

"No way! We need to go back home and get a video camera or something." His smirk widened. "This is by far _the_ best plan I've ever concocted, aside from my Rainbow burger…"

While Kouji was lost in his thoughts, Kouichi turned to the other two boys who were wincing at the memory of the burgers. With a sigh, he placed down the basket and said, "I'm assuming it wasn't the best plan he had?"

Tomoki let out a shiver. "I'm not sure," he admitted quietly. "But it sure looked bad…"

"Quiet!" Kouji thundered, and they all fell silent. He looked at them all, a mean look in his eyes, and just as his mouth opened, his stomach rumbled, loud and clear, and Kouji could only bend forward before falling back onto the grass and placing his hands on his stomach. "I'll…I'll explain as we eat," he groaned, shutting his eyes. They all sat down and Junpei reached for the basket to begin emptying its contents.

Kouichi dug his D-Tector out of his pocket as he sat down. "It's kind of nice to feel this be real…"

His twin sat out and pulled his own D-Tector out, stared at it lazily, and threw it behind him just as the screen lit up, and a mix of voices were heard. Kouichi gaped at his D-Tector.

"_Kouiji_!" the voices shouted again.

Kouji held a hand up to silence his brother and the others. "Just…don't…say…anything," he instructed in a low voice. Then, picking up his D-Tector, he said to Izumi, "Kouji here."

"_What_ is going on?" the girl demanded angrily. There were momentary breaks caused by static as she continued, intending to say, "I _don't_ want to spend another moment with Takuya. Do you know what he said? He said _I_ was being rude! How was _I_ being rude?" she demanded.

_Obviously, I wouldn't know_, Kouji thought, rolling his eyes. "Look, Izumi, we're kind of busy right now," he whispered, trying to sound as if he were in hiding. "Why don't you and Takuya meet up with us at…" His eyes searched Junpei's, then Tomoki's when the older boy failed to say anything.

"Ophanimon's Castle," Tomoki supplied. He turned to Junpei and whispered, "That'll bring back memories, won't it?"

"Ophanimon's Castle," Kouji confirmed. "At the entrance of Ophanimon's castle."

"But Kouji-"

"JUNPEI, DUCK!" Kouji shouted, pressing a few random buttons on his D-Tector. Izumi's protests disappeared. The bandana boy then watched his brother handle the situation with Takuya. _Don't screw up, don't screw up_…

"I'm sure, Takuya, but you see, we're kind of busy-" Kouichi let out a sigh as he was cut off yet again by the furious goggle boy.

"_Why_ would I have gotten stuck with her? _Why_? Come on, Kouichi, I know I'm rude, but she's _rubbing it in_," Takuya whined loudly. Then, addressing Izumi, Kouichi supposed, Takuya snickered, "I see he hung up on you…"

Kouichi cleared his throat. "Takuya, I kind of need to go…"

Understanding Kouichi's boundless patience, Tomoki snatched the D-Tector away from the older boy. "Takuya," he said in an urgent voice, "we need you to meet us at the Ophanimon's Castle. In the _front_ of the castle!" He looked around and bit his lip, then ran over to Kouji, ripped off the boy's bandana, and threw it a ways. _I'm going to die!_ "Sorry, Takuya, we have to go!" he yelled over Kouji's indignant yell of protest. The boy, nerves frazzled, began pressing as many buttons he could at once.

"Tomoki, that's enough," Kouji said, retrieving his bandana and dusting it. He let out a chuckle and smirked at his brother. "I think we can take our time here, right? Mind getting me a pudding?" He removed the D-Tector from Tomoki's hands and tossed it to Kouichi.

Kouichi caught it and looked embarrassed. "You aren't thinking what I _think_ you're thinking…are you?" He looked from Tomoki to Junpei, and finally his gaze fell on his brother. "I mean, I know Izumi asked us for help _earlier_, but really…"

"Help?" Junpei echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember how Izumi promised Takuya that date? Well…she wanted to figure out how to ask him. And while I suggested _great_ ideas…"

"They weren't great," Kouichi insisted. "They were downright disturbing!"

"Great," Kouji snapped. "But then Takuya fought with Izumi and so that's impossible. The guy is hopeless!"

The roll that had been an inch away from Tomoki's mouth fell to the grassy earth. "Uh-oh…" the brown-haired boy uttered, eyes wide in an unexplainable manner. Seconds later, Tomoki hastily picked up the roll and, as his eyes darted from one boy to another, he dusted off the food. "Takuya's going to have a really hard time…"

"You're telling me," Kouji snorted. "But don't worry."

Tomoki opened his mouth to protest. "But Kouji-"

"_It's all right_," the bandana-headed boy said icily, and his eyes focused on Tomoki in earnest. "I understand that Takuya has completely misunderstood Izumi's intentions, but that's why they'll get back together. He's Takuya, Tomoki."

"Besides," Junpei added, swallowing the sushi he had been chewing on for the past minute (needless to say it was made by Kouji). "That moron can't tell the difference between someone hitting on him and someone insulting him. And Kouji, your sushi needs work."

"Tomoki, grab the basket," Kouichi said with a sigh, watching as his brother lunged after the older boy in an attempt to strangle him. "This might take a while," he mumbled as they moved a few feet away from the scuffle.

"Which? Takuya and Izumi, or the fight those two are having?" Tomoki asked, placing the basket down and taking out a sushi.

"Put that sushi away. Kouji made it," Kouichi suggested, then pulled out another box of sushi and handed it to Tomoki. "I mean both. But if you ask me…I don't think the library will be enough."

Tomoki just beamed. "Don't worry! I have another place in mind!"

--------------------------------------------

"We're here!" Takuya breathed, throwing open the door and collapsing backwards, resting on his palms. "That took forever…"

Izumi was behind him, trying to look normal. "It wouldn't have if you had just _digivolved_."

"You didn't either," he retorted.

"But then I would have _lost_ you because you would have been slow," Izumi snapped. Growing weary, she pulled the door shut and leaned against it with a sigh.

Takuya had scrambled to his feet by this time, and their eyes interlocked – he made sure of it – and Izumi's eyes widened as he asked softly, "Wasn't that what you wanted?"

He watched her turn around, palms pressed against the door, ready to push it open and run. But she didn't.

_What is she doing?_ Takuya took a step toward her, and when she did nothing, he moved closer until he was beside her. She turned her back to him, and so Takuya pressed his ear against the wood of the door.

They were both silent enough so that he could hear her breath. She was obviously being self-conscious, trying to think of something else, but unable to, she had made breathing a voluntary action. Takuya itched to do the same, but he wanted to hear her. The pace of her uneven breathing, the little pauses she took to swallow, an occasional gasp for air…

Takuya soon pushed away from the door, coughing for air. In an attempt not to breath, he had held his breath, and had been so caught up with Izumi that he had forgotten to breath. Seeing him double over, Izumi rushed to his side.

"What happened?" she asked, a hand resting on his back as she bent over a little to catch a glimpse of his face.

The boy stiffened and slowly rose. "Uh…it…it was nothing," he said dismissively, following with a quiet apology which Izumi accepted wordlessly. Nodding, Takuya looked around the many books. "Brings back…memories…"

"Well, we might as well do something," Izumi said after a brief silence had descended upon them. The silence was unbearable. Words would lodge up in her throat, ready to exit her mouth at lightning speed. She was afraid of what she would say, what she would do…what…

"Look around."

Izumi gave a start and jumped slightly. "What?" she asked, hitting a bare arm. Things seemed to be crawling all over her. It was uncomfortable, unsettling.

"Look around," Takuya repeated. He pointed to a bookshelf. "I'm…going to be looking over there."

"For what?"

"For…" Takuya looked around the room. "For…something," he said at last. "Anything. A book. A pile of books…a place to sleep!" He took a seat on the floor and looked up at the ceiling, afraid to meet Izumi's eyes. "What are we even doing here?"

More than anything, she wanted to sit beside him. In fact, she was feeling slightly chilly. Something seemed to be wrong. Perhaps not in a life-threatening Lucemon manner, but the type of wrong in which her pride…her dignity…her sanity was at stake. Especially her sanity.

She _swore_ something scuttled across the room. When Izumi looked at Takuya, he was sitting with his back rested against a pile of books, looking somewhat pained, possibly because the edges of the covers were digging into his back. His legs were sprawled out in front of him, his palms were pressed against the floor as he adjusted himself against the books, preparing to fall asleep. He seemed to have not heard a sound.

Izumi whirled around. "Again," she gasped, and Takuya sat up straight, frowning.

"Izumi…?"

She looked at him, then swallowed and looked around the room. "There's…something…"

"You sure? I didn't hear anything." He was on his feet, walking…

…to stand beside her.

Izumi jumped slightly, swatting away his hand that lingered beside her, to her right. "Stay away!" Her hands flew to her mouth. _I did it_, the girl thought miserably.

Indeed she had. Takuya, more than slightly incensed, scowled at her. "What was that for?"

_Apologize!_ Izumi hung her head. "I'm…just jumpy, I guess…"

_Some apology_. He shrugged. "Sit down. Take a nap. You're just tired is all," he suggested.

"Take a nap _where_?" She gestured to the room. "Not _anywhere_ is there a place suitable for sleeping!"

Takuya's eyes were slowly lowered so they gazed at the ground. "You…er…" _Yeah, 'You can sleep on me!' sounds so right_. He removed his jacket and threw it at her. "You can use that. I'll make sure there's nothing running around."

Bright red, Izumi could only hold the jacket out to him in outstretched hands.

"_Use_ it," Takuya snapped, giving her a mean glare. "It's going to be annoying if all you can do is go insane at every little sound."

"But _you_ wanted to sl-"

Takuya walked over to a table he hadn't spotted before and took a seat in a nearby chair. "Sleep. I told you."

She curled down against the books Takuya had been leaning against previously. There was no will left in her to rebel. Her eyes quickly shut themselves, not because she was at all tired, but because it felt discomforting to be under his gaze.

And at the same time, she felt as if she was the safest person in the world.

--------------------------------------------

A/N-

Jeez, is this how I usually format my chapters? I can't really tell anymore. Ahh...so it's a bit...OFF in the chapter, I know. Chapter title changed (but it doesn't seem to fit...).

So not in an effort to defend _myself_, but my _style_, I'm going to say that all the plot holes in the first chapter make perfect sense. That Izumi just RANDOMLY dragged the twins off works. If you would like me to explain, it'll sound a bit made-up because I don't tend to remember my initial reason for writing things the way they are. Besides, plot holes are meant to be filled in. At least in this case they are.

Be happy. I'll add arguing in the next chapter to amuse you if necessary. I'll edit if necessary. Later.

Review or PM or Flame or sleep.


	3. Bad Directions

Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon. But I aim to own Wada Kouji's CDs!!! Someday…but that's another story.

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Part 3: Bad Directions

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_She was in heaven_. _She had to be_.

_Izumi's eyes opened slowly to meet green grass sprinkled with beautiful flowers that attracted birds, butterflies, and other fodder_. _The sunlight was filtered by the trees providing warmth without the glare, but it also added a sort of mystical touch_.

_She was resting sideways against someone's arm_.

"_Izumi_…"

_Izumi looked up and smiled at the shadowed face in front of her_. _All she could make out was a smile in return_. _His lips moved_.

"_Izumi_."

_A laugh escaped her, light and clear_. _She stopped leaning on him and turned herself so she faced his side_. _He didn't look at her, but straight ahead at the tree across from them_.

"_You sound too serious,_" _she told him, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on her kneecaps_. _Her eyes were focused on his figure, watching his every movement_.

_He sighed and turned to look at her_. _His face was handsome, but he still couldn't see his eyes, hidden behind his bangs_. "_Izumi_," _he tried again_. "_I want-_"

_Her hands dropped to her side_. _Caught in a daze, Izumi leaned forward onto her knees and held out a hand towards his face_. "_Who_…?"

_Prince Charming evaded her hands and grasped them instead in his own hands, then pinned them to the grassy earth_. _He said instead_, "_Izumi, listen_."

_Izumi gave him a charming smile of her own_. "_I can't listen unless I know who I'm talking to, can I?_" _she said, leaning forward and touching foreheads with the boy as she struggled to free her hands_.

_He wouldn't let her go_. _He sounded urgent as he continued_, "_Izumi, just listen! I want to_-"

"_Let me go_," _she said_. _Her voice was level, but her panic was climbing quickly_. _She leaned away from him and tried stepping on his hands_. _It worked; he winced in pain, but he didn't let go_. "Let go!" _Izumi shrieked now_. _Her feet pressed on his hands again and again until he gave up and let go_.

_His hands were withdrawn and brought to his mouth, where he nursed his right index finger_. _With a heavy sigh, the boy looked up_. _Brown bangs parted, revealing his eyes_.

"_T_-Takuya…?"

"_Izumi, I_…"

"NO!" Izumi's eyes opened wide, and her left hand shot out, catching Takuya in the face. The boy stumbled back, hands over his nose. Shocked, Izumi scrambled to her feet, Takuya's red jacket in hand. "Takuya?" she exclaimed in shock and guilt.

"I'm okay," he told her, his words muffled by his hands. He realized it would take a while before he could talk again.

Izumi watched Takuya wince in agony. _This is my fault_, she thought glumly. Her grip loosened on his jacket. _Why can't I just_…

By this time, Takuya had removed his hand, but the pain was so great he winced as he told Izumi, "You're right. There's something else in here." As soon as he finished what he wanted to say, he covered his nose with his hands again and guessed, "Maybe a mouse."

She jumped at this. "Mouse?" Izumi repeated uneasily.

Takuya nodded. Then, as an afterthought, he added slowly, "Then again, this _is_ the Digital World."

"Of course!" Izumi laughed, feeling slightly better. Mice. She had had horrible experiences with mice. Like the time the son of her father's friend had brought over his mouse and let it run rampant around the house. Izumi had stood on her chair, screaming as it ran through her room every so often. The boy hadn't even tried to catch it, and the mouse wasn't even cute; it was as fat as a rat. _Then there was that time when I was babysitting that same boy_, she recalled. He had gotten another rat after his first one had run away. And yet again, Izumi had stood on a chair, frightened at the very thought of the mouse.

"Say, Takuya…" Izumi trailed off and bit her lip as a small scuffle was heard. Her grip on his jacket tightened, and she took small, hesitant shuffles toward him. "What was that?" Izumi asked in a small voice.

He swallowed. "U-uh…"

By now, Izumi had dropped his jacket to the floor and was now holding onto Takuya's arm. "Takuya," she squeaked, stepping closer.

Takuya froze. His eyes slipped shut, his mouth was slightly ajar…he inhaled slightly. Then, opening his eyes, he bent down, picked up his jacket, and bundled it up.

"What are you-"

"Just wait," Takuya muttered, shrugging her off of his arm. He took position, ready to throw his makeshift jacket-ball.

There was a scuffle again. Takuya turned around and let loose his ball. The jacket unwound and fell on something.

There was a scream.

Izumi screamed.

Takuya screamed.

More screams.

After a while, Takuya plugged his ears and turned to Izumi. "Stop!" he hissed.

Izumi looked at him through teary eyes. "B-but…"

He removed his fingers from his ears and walked up bravely to the jacket. There was silence all around him, save his footsteps. Takuya would have denied it, but his fingers were shaking as he reached down for the jacket and the jacket jerked away.

"Takuya," Izumi said, voice shaking in fear. "_Do something_!"

"I'm trying!" he growled. Hopping jackets didn't happen to him often. "Come here you-"

The jacket hopped closer to Izumi. She screamed now, then declared, "Takuya, once this is over, I'll-"

The jacket stopped, and Takuya lunged forward, catching it in his arms as he fell to the floor. "Stop _moving_!" he hissed, bringing the jacket close to him and wrestling their intruder out. "Got-" All enthusiasm failed as he held a mouse the size of his head in his hands. "A…what are you?"

"How rude!" The mouse wriggled its way out of Takuya's hands and scampered a good distance away. "I'm Chuumon, can't you tell? What're you human kids doing here?"

Takuya simply winced as Izumi let out another scream.

--------------------------------------------

"I don't think I'll be able to eat again for another three weeks," Tomoki groaned, a hand on his stomach.

Kouichi gazed at the basket. "Maybe we packed too much…?" He smiled, seeing the same sickened expression on Junpei and Kouji's faces. Maybe that stomachache would calm them down a while.

"Kouji, you're walking like an old lady," Junpei suddenly snapped.

Kouji stopped and resisted the urge to twitch. "What," he said slowly, "did you just say?"

_Okay, maybe not_, Kouichi thought, standing up and moving off a ways. "Come on, Tomoki. We ought to meet up with Takuya and Izumi," he sighed, walking in the direction of Ophanimon's castle. At least, he _thought_ the castle was that way.

"Right!" Tomoki trotted behind him, but fell to the halt. "Oh…"

Kouichi truned around. "Oh?" he repeated. A frown formed on his lips, and he echoed Tomoki again: "Oh…"

"What's the worst that could have happened? I may not know what a girl thinks," Tomoki declared, "but Izumi isn't one to give in easily. She'll be beating Takuya up about it for a while, won't she?"

"As expected of a girl," Kouichi muttered. "Such a skilled tactician…" His gaze drifted to Kouji and Junpei, whose hands were interlocked in a test of strength. Both pushed their hardest against the palms of the other but to no avail. "…unlike some dimwits. Come on, Tomoki." He seated himself on the grass. "Let's plan the rest of the show."

--------------------------------------------

"So Chuumon, why exactly are you here?" Takuya asked wearily. He seated himself in front of the digimon and put his jacket back on. "Not spying, I hope?" _Although there's no reason to spy on us_.

Chuumon's face broke into a wide grin as he looked in Izumi's direction. "She's pretty."

_O…kay…so he's a crazy digimon who can't get a digi-girl. Makes sense now_. Takuya shrugged. "So…why are you here?"

It seemed he was being ignored; Izumi had overcome her fear and was now beside him, smiling at the digimon, a hint of a blush on her face. "Why, thank you," she giggled.

_And…a girl will be nice to anyone who compliments her. Well, Takuya, you keep learning and learning, don't you?_ He didn't like the way things were going. Not one bit. The day he lost Izumi to a crazy purple mouse was the day he…

…was today, actually.

"Madam, may I ask what you are doing in the presence of a street rat?" Chuumon inquired, bowing in Izumi's direction. The mouse's eyes shifted towards Takuya, shining mischievously.

Takuya frowned. _Look who's talking, you rat_. He said nothing and rose to his feet, glaring down at the digimon. Oh how he was losing…

"He's so cute, isn't he, Takuya?" Izumi asked, giggling as the mouse took her hand and placed a small kiss on the tips of her fingers.

He watched this with cold eyes. "Careful, it might give you rabies," Takuya muttered. _Where's Kouji? Or wait…was it Kouichi who was on my side…_? He hated twins. Nevertheless, that was no excuse for them _not_ to be _here_.

Izumi looked up at him and frowned. Takuya's eyes met with hers and quickly fell on the beaming Chuumon again. _Uh oh, she's mad at me_, he realized.

"Takuya Kanbara…"

"Why, isn't she pretty…" the mouse snickered silently. "…Takuya…?"

"That's Mr. Kanbara to you, you little rat," Takuya said before he could stop himself. Then, clearing his throat, he corrected himself: "Mouse. I meant mouse. And uh…sorry, what was the question?" Oh, but he had heard it well. He pulled out his D-Tector, uncomfortable with the angry silence from Izumi and the smug leering gaze he was receiving from that darn rat. "I'm going to…call the others," he said quickly, heading off into a corner, facing them so he could keep an eye on Izumi, and preparing a long tirade in his mind so Kouji wouldn't know what hit him.

--------------------------------------------

"_KOUJI!_"

Kouichi gazed at his D-Tector with a frown forming on his lips. He turned to Tomoki. "The babies?"

"The babies," Tomoki agreed.

With a nod of confirmation, Kouichi picked up his D-Tector and looked at it. "Takuya, this is Kouichi," he informed the boy on the other end.

"_O-oh…_Kouichi_…so sorry_," Takuya murmured, sounding as embarrassed as he really was.

"What's the problem?"

Takuya let out a huff and muttered, "You guys aren't here yet. What do you _mean_, 'What's the problem?'"

Kouichi couldn't help but smile. Through his peripheral vision, he saw Tomoki giggle. "Sorry, Takuya, but we got caught up here. I don't think we can make it to Ophanimon's castle. We've decided to make our new rendezvous point at the Village of Beginnings," he said delicately. _And it will definitely be a beginning_.

"Nice act," Tomoki whispered.

Kouichi grinned at the younger boy. "Takuya…?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Suddenly, Takuya yelled, "VILLAGE OF BEGINNINGS, EH?"

Kouichi held the D-Tector an arm's length away from his face. _What's the deal?_ "Uh, yeah," he mumbled. His eyes met with Tomoki as he mouthed, 'What the heck is going on?'

"WELL IZUMI, YOU CAN STOP FLIRTING WITH THE RAT – I mean…mouse – BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GO TO THE VILLAGE OF BEGINNINGS!" Takuya continued into the D-Tector. "ALRIGHT, KOUICHI, WE'LL SEE YOU THERE."

And nothing more was heard from Takuya. Kouichi put down his D-Tector, gazing at it warily. "I don't want to know what's going on there," the older boy declared, his eyes shifting to the continuing fight between Kouji and Junpei. He shivered viciously, then let out a heavy sigh as to rid himself of all worries. "Will the ever be done?"

"Wait – I think Junpei's knocked out," Tomoki said, squinting in hopes to better view the scuffle between the friends. "Oh…never mind. He just fell down and hit his head."

"What I wouldn't give to be Takuya at this moment," Kouichi groaned quietly. "Things must be going well over there…"

--------------------------------------------

"What I wouldn't give to be Kouichi at this moment," Takuya groaned quietly. "Things must be going well over there…"

The good news was he had managed to get Izumi out of the castle. They were now on their way to the Village of Beginnings, or so Takuya hoped. With the dratted rat leading them, he couldn't be sure.

Yes, that was the bad news. Chuumon had decided to accompany them. Chuumon, the dratted rat. Chuumon the mangy rat. Chuumon the…

"_So_, Takuya, wouldn't you say Izumi is so very wonderfully cute?"

Chuumon the suck-up. Takuya could come up with countless more names, and they wouldn't be very pleasant, nor PG-13. He pressed his lips together tightly, resisting the urge to digivolve and fly away. Then again, maybe if he did, Izumi would digivolve too, and then they could leave Chuumon behind…

"_TAKUYA_," Izumi shouted. "Chuumon's been trying to get your attention for the last few minutes in case you haven't noticed!"

_Oh, I noticed_. Takuya cleared his throat. "Uh…sorry?"

She sniffed. "You should be!" He rolled his eyes, and Izumi noticed. "Takuya, what's _wrong_ with you?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with _me_, 'wonderfully cute' Izumi. In case you haven't noticed, I only _started_ acting like this when the _rat_ came!" Takuya snapped. "How dense _are_ you? A guy has feelings too." He said the last part in a low mutter, and Izumi didn't hear.

"_What_ did you say?" she asked venomously.

"I SAID YOU'RE DENSE. BLIND. ABOUT AS AWARE AS JUNPEI," Takuya snapped. "And you know," he added heatedly, "if you really thought it wasn't working out with Junpei, why didn't you just _tell_ him instead of blaming him for something he didn't do?"

"Because unlike _some_ people, I thought about how he might feel if I told him the truth!" Izumi returned.

Takuya's jaw dropped, for he wasn't quite sure what to say in response to such a statement. Slowly, he swallowed, then straightened up from his normal slouching figure to look Izumi straight in the eyes. "I don't think you've changed _one_ bit since we first came to the Digital World," he told her quietly. His D-Tector was already in his hands. "Beast Spirit Evolution! BurningGreymon!"

Izumi watched BurningGreymon lift into the sky and soar off ahead. Only her eyes displayed her hurt, but she quickly directed them towards the ground, allowing only a few tears to fall. "Come on, Chuumon," she ordered bitterly. Truth be told, she was still afraid of mice; the only reason she was okay with Chuumon was because the mouse was a digimon. And that did little to console her without Takuya by her side…

"Let's hurry up and get there before him!" Izumi declared. No more sentimental thoughts about Takuya. As of now, he was her enemy.

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A/N-

And that's all that there is for now. Again, no excuses. I meant to have this up after I took the SAT on March 10. Then two tragedies struck; I wronged two people. One would be a reviewer: **milkshakelvr**. The other…unfortunately, I am not at liberty to tell the details. Anyway, **milkshakelvr**, I owe you a BIIIIG favor, so name it whenever you would like! (I've also been watching Bleach like crazy, but hush.)

I don't know where I'm going with this story! That's a lie, actually. I somewhat do. But the Chuumon part turned out unexpectedly wrong…Next chapter will be longer I promise!

I've noticed that I haven't been thanking my reviewers. Have I? I don't think so. This is the only story I haven't. No wait, I haven't been doing so on Cursed Gifts, either. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed up till now (in no particular order): **milkshakelvr, RedEye, christineLSL, dbzgtfan2004, GemmaniGirl, ritachi, Evide, dogluv101, and lastly but not leastly, The Regan.**

**By the way, The Regan, the only reason I'm offended right now is you haven't responded to my response to your response. But if you'd like to say nothing more on the matter, that is fine with me!**

Review or PM or Flame or read the story again and choose one of the first three options below!!!!!!!!:

a) Review!  
b) PM!  
c) Flame!  
d) Leave the page and reread the story later before choosing either a, b, or c!  
e) Leave the page and do nothing which most of you do!


	4. Back To The Start

Disclaimer- Izumi currently speaking: **dragonsunlight** owns _not_ the realm of Digimon. Let us celebrate this joyous moment.

Dedication: To the girl who couldn't get the love she wanted and the couple that had to suffer.

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Part 4: Back to the Start

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"Where are we _going_?" Izumi demanded angrily as they entered a forest. She was hurt. She was lost. She wanted to go home. This had been the stupidest idea ever; there was no enemy to fight.

But she nearly stopped breathing when she realized Chuumon was with her. Izumi quickly put on her best smile. There was no use in bothering the mouse.

"This way," Chuumon said in his scratchy voice, pointing down the invisible trail leading into the forest. It was thick with trees; she couldn't make out anything _but_ trees.

She voiced her doubt, but Chuumon shot her such a look that Izumi didn't dare question him anymore. It was frightening without Takuya, much more than she wanted to admit.

After splitting up with Takuya, Chuumon claimed he could get to the Village of Beginnings in a flash, that they only needed to take a quick shortcut. And so, Izumi soon found herself at the mouth of a large, vast forest.

She hoped it only _looked_ large.

"This way," Chuumon said, chuckling and rubbing his hands together. It went unnoticed by Izumi. She was too focused with her surroundings.

Just like her dream, sunlight filtered through the trees, lighting up the path they walked. But it was cold and windy, dead leaves were scattered everywhere, and she would occasionally trip over a tree root or two. Izumi was feeling absolutely miserable.

But there was a sound that gave her some hope. It was faint, however she was sure she heard buzzing. Paying no heed to where Chuumon was, Izumi dashed to the source of the sound.

Her hopes were confirmed as she pushed herself between two trees. The narrow clearing she had entered was the mouth of a stream that started up to her right, where Chuumon was. To her left, there was buzzing. Familiar buzzing.

Izumi broke out into a smile as she walked to her left, edging her way around the lake and dashing up to the three digimon before her.

"Honeybeemon!" she cried happily. Izumi smiled at them, hands clasped behind her back. "Long time, huh?"

"It's Izumi!" the digimon exclaimed, buzzing around the girl. "But what are you doing here?"

"I…" Her face fell. Izumi turned around to gaze at the wide lake behind her. Trees were rooted a good meter away from the edge of the lake. "…don't know," she finally confessed, gazing at them. "Do you three know where the Village of Beginnings is? I feel so lost…"

They shot her a puzzled look. "Well," the first one said, throwing a worried look at the other two before forcing a smile as he looked back at Izumi. "The thing is…"

The second one started, "It's…the other way…"

"…you're running away from it," the last one concluded.

Something snapped together. A smile spread on Izumi's lips. "Oh…?" She was panicking. She was afraid without Takuya, and she should have guessed that a mangy old rat would trick her like this. Yet Izumi stood in the greenest grass, staring up at three bees, smiling insanely. She certainly felt insane, too.

"Well," Izumi said after a while. "I'd best be going now."

Their eyes were fixed onto her as she turned around. Izumi stopped, sensing their worry.

"Can I ask a question…?"

"Sure!" they buzzed.

"Is the truth better…than a lie made to save someone hurt?" Izumi swallowed. She couldn't even hear them buzzing anymore. It was all so silent, except for the thoughts hitting the walls inside her head.

"Izumi, are you all right?" one finally asked.

She turned around and gave them a smile. "Of course. That was a silly question, wasn't it?"

Two of them nodded in agreement, but the third flew forward indignantly. "Not at all, Izumi!" he cried. Then, beaming goofily in a manner that reminded Izumi of Takuya, the digimon declared, "The truth is better, of course! If you lie, they won't know the real reason why they're hurting!"

He looked ready to say more, but the other two buzzed in and threw the smallest bee back. Izumi couldn't help but smile as they tried to cheer her up.

"Don't listen to him! He's…"

"…crazy! Yeah, crazy."

"Always muttering nonsense…"

"…never can get his facts straight."

"…such a pain…"

"It's all right!" Izumi said, waving to them happily for some nonsense reason. She took several steps back until she was right in front of the path back to Chuumon. Raising her right hand, Izumi declared, "I promise I will do my best to live up to your expectations, you three! I will _never_ tell another lie!"

They said their goodbyes and Izumi made her way back to the forest. Much to her relief, Chuumon was looking for her, calling her name rather loudly.

She would rid herself of this matter quickly. Then, perhaps, she could meet up with Takuya in time to have tea and cookies at Swanmon's.

--------------------------------------------

"So…where are we going?" Izumi asked, following the mouse as happily as possible. If she showed her irritation, everything would be ruined.

"The Village of Beginnings, of course!" the mouse exclaimed. He sounded offended. Ducking to avoid a branch, he told her matter-of-factly, "It's just ahead."

Izumi gave a gasp of astonishment. "Really…! I didn't know there were so many trees around it!"

She got the reaction she expected. The mouse gave a sound of surprise. Then, letting out a laugh, he asked, "You've…been there before?"

"Yes." Izumi bit her lip. She felt like expanding the story, but she didn't want to say anything wrong. "Yes," she said again, "I did." And so her attempt to start a conversation ended.

The route through the forest came to a stop at a cave. There were more trees behind it, but Izumi could see no alternate path back the way she came from.

_Well_, she thought, a hand falling to her bag at her side, _I still have _that.

"Come in, come in!" Chuumon ushered her in eagerly, then dashed ahead and pulled a chair up to the table at the right side of the cave. "Have a seat, Princess!"

_Princess_…? Izumi took a seat and tried not to frown. She was feeling incredibly uneasy. _What would Takuya have done if he was here?_ She tried to think of possible outcomes to calm down. It worked for a while. She could imagine Takuya chasing the mouse around the small cave, threatening to strangle it, then grabbing a hold of her arm to take her away…

Izumi's eyes glazed over at the thought. So preoccupied was she in her own thoughts that when a yellow digimon plopped down in the seat across for her, Izumi didn't so much as notice.

"Princess…?" Chuumon called out, hopping onto the table.

She blinked, then smiled. "Ah…what happened?"

"Welcome!" he said, puffing out his mouse-ly chest, "Welcome to the one and only Village of Beginnings!"

_Lunatics_, Izumi thought immediately. Her gaze drifted across the cave. Aside from the table and two chairs, there was a heap of junk on the other side of the corner. From the mouth to the back of the cave was a good five yards. From one side to the other, it was seven yards. Not too large for a cave, but a modest home for a mouse and…

Izumi's eyes fell upon the second digimon. Her anxiety bar was beyond full. There was a goofy look on the digimon's face as he hopped down from his seat and towards the door entrance.

She had reason to worry.

"You can't leave!" the yellow digimon said, spreading his small hands to his side.

"Sukamon!" Chuumon scowled. Then, picking up Izumi's hand, he said, "Please, accept us and–"

"Let _go_," Izumi snapped, withdrawing her hand and rising to her feet. She was tempted to digivolve. She knew where this would go. It was her against two little lovesick digimon.

Chuumon let out a cry of dismay. "Grab her, Sukamon!"

Sukamon came hopping toward Izumi. She easily stopped him by holding her foot out in front of him. "You two," she fumed. "I want to know what you're trying to pull." When Chuumon came towards her, Izumi pressed her foot on Sukamon. "Don't make me," she threatened.

The mouse digimon threw his hands in the air. "We're sorry!"

--------------------------------------------

"We're sorry!"

Izumi sighed and rubbed her temples. "I see," she mumbled, looked up the two across the table. "Well I'm not going to be the princess of your little cave. I'm sorry, but that's not something I'd want to do."

Chuumon looked down dejectedly. Again, for the umpteenth time, he repeated, "I'm sorry."

She bit her lip, feeling slightly guilty. "But," Izumi said, "if you tell me which way the _real_ Village of Beginnings is, I might let you off."

"It's to the west!" He climbed on the table and bowed again and again, slowly edging towards Izumi's hands. "Oh, thank you, thank you," he said again and again as he moved towards her hand.

Withdrawing her hand before he could do anything, Izumi rose to her feet. "The west. I see. Then I'll be going." She smiled at both of them and said, "Don't try tricking a girl into coming with you. That's the tip I'll give you."

Chuumon and Sukamon watched Izumi run out and both digimon sank into a dream state.

"Sukamon…" Chuumon mumbled with a wistful sigh.

"Yeah…?"

"…I think Izumi's the best."

--------------------------------------------

Takuya licked his lips as he stepped past the large bushes filled with eggs.

It was the same, shining tree. The same heart-lifting air. The same bushes. The same eggs.

He was about to yell for Swanmon when he thought better of it. After all, from all the silence he guessed the digi-babies were sleeping. Instead, the goggle boy quietly headed to the tree, stopping at the entrance to look around.

_Swanmon_…? It was no good calling for her in his head, but he was sure she was somewhere around here. Takuya wandered around, landing on his heel and rolling to his toes to quiet the sound of his shoes.

He stopped.

There was something behind him.

Takuya looked over his shoulder and nearly jumped. _What the_–

A small black blob of a digimon stared up at him with large yellow eyes. Its tiny mouth opened, and a bubble formed.

The goggle boy blinked.

Botamon gazed up at him.

The bubble floated up to Takuya's face and popped, causing the boy to recoil in disgust. "Augh," he groaned, "spit bubbles!" _This is like looking after a baby Shinya again! Where's Swanmon when you need her?_ He looked around one last time, desperately wanting to find the mother-like digimon, but found no trace of her. Instead, his gaze fell on Botamon. And the digimon didn't look too happy, either.

Hastily, Takuya dropped to his knees. "Now, now, I didn't mean it _that_ way! They're…er…very _nice_ spit bubbles! Really! Aw, come on, don't cry! I'll play with you," he said, scooping the digimon into his hands. "Here, let's go outside!"

As he walked outside with Botamon sitting in his two hands, he heard soft…padded footstep noises.

He stopped walking.

The noises stopped.

_I don't want to know what's happening,_ Takuya thought miserably, making a run for it as fast as he could, only to be swallowed by a wave of awake and active baby digimon.

--------------------------------------------

"I'm so sorry…were they trouble?" Swanmon asked. She gestured to the plate of cookies. "Take some, please."

"No trouble!" Takuya laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. It was aching in pain. _They're a lot heavier than they look_, he thought, glumly taking a cookie into his hands. The baby digimon bounced all around him, knocking the cookie out of his hands and onto the ground. Takuya simply took another cookie.

Swanmon smiled. "So where are the others?"

The cookie fell from his hands onto the grass. Multicolored blobs swarmed around it. "Eh…others?"

"The other…children?"

"OH! Oh, um…they're…" Takuya trailed off, waving away the babies, picking up the fallen cookie and staring at it as if he was distracted. "Uh…hey, what kind of ingredients did you use for this cookie?"

His ploy worked. Swanmon, completely distracted, rambled on about the ingredients of the cookies Takuya began chewing on. He nodded when she asked him what he used, then shook his head. "I mean…uh…chocolate…chips?"

Her slender neck arched to the side. "What might those be?"

"Uh…never mind. Say, Swanmon–" He stopped. _I'm not worried about her_, Takuya told himself firmly. Yet he felt somewhat worried. _Shouldn't she have been here by now?_ He rose to his feet. "S-Swanmon…the truth is…" Takuya drew a breath and lied, "Izumi should be coming here soon…and so should the others. Could you…tell them I'll be back? I have to uh…"

She nodded in understanding (however false it was). "Alright, I'll make sure to keep them here!"

_YES!_ Takuya ran off, digivolved, then flew off, scanning the ground below. _When I find that damn rat, I'll_…

--------------------------------------------

"…kill him!" Izumi screeched, startling the baby digimon around her. "I mean, does he think I'm so helpless that I can't handle a _rat_?" _No offense, Chuumon_, she thought, feeling a twinge of regret.

Swanmon was in good humor, however, and ignored the raging aura that surrounded Izumi. The others seemed not to notice it either, for Izumi was surrounded on all sides with young digimon that had just woken from their naps.

"Don't worry, he'll be back soon," Swanmon said, holding up the plate of cookies as a Botamon bounced towards it. "Not for you, little one…"

The girl couldn't help but smile, seeing this. "You must have lots of fun with them, Swanmon," she murmured, picking Botamon up. "I wouldn't mind being in their company day and night…" Botamon began struggling, trying to make his way towards the plate. If he jumped, he could make it onto the plate. "Never making a fuss," Izumi continued softly, "at least not as much as a boy might. And they're cute, too…"

Swanmon let out a chuckle. "That's true," she murmured, "but don't you think that, especially for your kind, that's simply an escape?"

"Sorry?"

The digimon let out a light-hearted laugh and shook her head. "Never you mind, Izumi. Come, come, drink your tea…! Enjoy yourself! Takuya should be here soon."

Izumi let out a huff as she let go of Botamon, who bounced off to play with his friends (the other digimon managed to sneak off with the plate as Swanmon got up to water some bushes). _Takuya_, she thought glumly, staring at the steam that rose from her tea. _Where are you_?

--------------------------------------------

"SWANMON!" Takuya collapsed, out of breath, at the edge of the village. _Damn it, where is she?_ He rose to his feet and observed his surroundings. It was already night; there was no way he could find her now.

"Swanmon," he called out again, walking towards the tree. He let out a sigh. _I'm sorry, Izumi, I'm really sorry. I wish I could tell you that. I wish I could hear you yelling at me again for being stupid, for being_…

"Shut _up_!"

He felt pain spreading through his head. "_Ow_," Takuya groaned, his hand delicately placed over the bruise he received. "What's your problem…?" He turned around to scowl at none other than Izumi.

Had she not hit him, perhaps he would have hugged her, perhaps he might have apologized, but she had hit him, and Takuya was in _no_ mood to be surprised or sorry. "I go flying over half the world just to look for you and you _hit my head_?" he demanded angrily.

She shot him a glare. "Do you think I'm _that_ helpless?"

Takuya fell silent, contemplating his answer. Slowly, he said, "Ye-no!" Her eyes had grown so wide he began to fear for his life. "No," Takuya said again, "no, of course not."

"That's more like it," Izumi growled, hitting his head again. "Now shut up! They're asleep!"

"Who?"

"THE BABIES!" Izumi shouted, hitting his head again.

Takuya let out a groan. "Izumi, _stop_ it!"

She complied and simply glared at him. "Takuya," Izumi said quietly, "do you really think I'm helpless?"

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "I'd never think you were _helpless_, Izumi," he sighed, taking a seat on the grass. "More like…I was worried that you were mad enough at me that you would do anything to annoy me. And I was afraid that you might have just left…and…I don't know, why are you asking me?" He spread himself out on the grass and stared up at the branches that spread out in all directions to cover the village.

Izumi sat beside him, her hand raking gently through the grass. "Takuya…"

"Yeah?"

"…we…should get some sleep, huh?" She gulped silently and looked away, feeling her cheeks grow warm. It was just the two of them again; Swanmon was busy putting the babies to sleep.

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, we should. Those morons never came in the end."

"I'm sorry, Takuya."

"Why are you sorry?"

"For, well…you know."

"No, I don't. And in any case, you shouldn't be sorry. _I'm_ sorry," Takuya said, a yawn following.

Izumi let out a sound of annoyance as she turned to glare at him once more that night. "_You're_ the one with no reason to be sorry! I said I'm sorry!"

"No, I'm sorry more."

"You can't be more sorry than I am! I'm sorry for saying sorry!" Izumi snapped, then quickly covered her mouth. "You cheated," she squeaked, voice muffled by her hands.

Takuya let out a short laugh, draining silence from the night. "Yeah? You think?" He yawned once more and shut his eyes. "Forget it, Izumi," he murmured. "Good night."

Izumi bit her lip. Quietly, she lay down beside him, making sure her back was facing him. There was a small smile on her face as she whispered softly, "Good night, Takuya…"

--------------------------------------------

"They've been fighting all day," Tomoki said with a sigh, collapsing onto his back. They hadn't moved one bit, because while Kouichi and Tomoki were planning how to get Izumi and Takuya together, Junpei and Kouji competed in various ways because simple wrestling would not solve their problems. At the moment, they were playing tic-tac-toe and Junpei refused to give up, no matter how many times he was losing.

Kouichi just shrugged. "Yeah, well…they're of a different breed."

The younger boy frowned. "He's your twin, Kouichi, you can't say that."

"I can't?" Kouichi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…in any case…"

"Kouichi, maybe it's because I'm not that old, but I really don't understand why Takuya was mad seeing you and Kouji with Izumi."

Kouichi glanced at the boy in surprise. "Well…OH!" He reddened suddenly. "You see, Izumi was asking us how she could possibly get Takuya to go on a date with her. I mean, she promised him before Takuya and Kouji went to fight Cherubimon, but you know, the guy has a head full of…"

"…something," Tomoki offered. "Keep going."

"And Kouji and Izumi traded rather…" Kouichi buried his face in his hands. "…horrendous ideas…and…so…I guess while they were laughing and I was blushing, it might have looked like…I don't know…she was flirting? And Takuya likes her and he was jealous?"

Tomoki nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess it did. But I think Takuya was jealous for no reason; Kouji's not the type to flirt."

Kouichi looked up immediately. "Are you _sure_ about that?"

"Why?"

"Every time I've seen him with a girl, the girl's always been giggling…"

"What about him?"

Kouichi bit his lip as he tried to remember. "I think he's been smiling like a maniac or just staring stupidly."

"Hmmm…" Tomoki gazed up at the stars. "I don't want to think about it. Hey, should we call them up now?"

"Takuya and Izumi should probably be bickering or sleeping. Let's not. I'm going to sleep. If you're awake to see a winner, tell me about it tomorrow morning, okay?" Kouichi said with a yawn just as Junpei let out a cry of dismay.

Tomoki shook his head. "Forget it," he said with disgust, turning to his side and drawing his knees up. "I'm going to sleep."

--------------------------------------------

A/N:

Original Summary: Takuya doesn't know the truth of the statement until he accuses Izumi of lying, Kouji of mutiny, and Kouichi of being unable to form an opinion.

Yeah, I just randomly found that. I rather liked it, but it just didn't work. Honestly, I shouldn't be writing, because my mind is elsewhere. I've been sick since a week and a day ago (my nose, a fever, my eye, my other eye, my throat, etc.) and everything went out of whack. I didn't do my homework properly, yada yada yada…and I didn't go up to the computer. But finals are almost over!

_A bit about the dedication_: Sorry if what was up before offended anyone. I didn't mean it. In short, there are people who will fall in love. And there are people for which that will work out. But there have been people who have made mistakes recently, mistakes which really make me want to cry. All I can say is fall in love as many times as you want, but before you move up the stairs, make sure you aren't doing something stupid. Because of the actions of two individuals, certain lives have been ruined. And I don't think it's such a happy feeling.

Thank you to: **TrialAndError1192812, Keyo-Red Angel of Hope, milkshakelvr, ritachi**

Review or PM or Flame…!


	5. Losing Yourself

Disclaimer- Takuya here, because **dragonsunlight** is, once more, too lazy to do the disclaimer! She doesn't own Digimon, and NEVER will. Deprived child!

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Part 5: Losing Yourself

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It was nice and warm, with the refreshing scent of grass. Izumi felt right at home, as if she was in her own bed – with the refreshing scent of grass included.

"No…go away, Shinya…five…five more…fi…"

…or she would have felt at home, had it not been for the loudmouth beside her.

_Beside…me?_ Izumi turned her head, brushing blond hair from her eyes. "What the–"

There was a scream.

Takuya sat up with such a start that his goggles fell off, landing behind him. "What? Where is it? Who is it?" he mumbled incoherently, looking one way and then the other.

"YOU PERVERT!"

He froze. Slowly, Takuya turned his head, meeting the angry gaze of Izumi with a scowl. "I'm…not…a pervert," the currently goggle-less boy said, slowly, calmly.

Her glare intensified as she sat up. "Then mind getting out of my personal bubble?"

"_Your_ personal bubble?" He laughed, seeing her nod indignantly. Takuya pointed to the small bush on the other side of him. "See that? I made sure to sleep near that last night, so something as stupid as this wouldn't happen!"

Izumi turned pink. "A-are you insinuating that _I_ rolled here of my own accord?"

"Of course. What else?"

She began to stammer incoherently, reddening as she did. Finally, Izumi scooted over and looked away. "You're a pervert and that's that!"

Taking advantage of the position they were in, Takuya stuck his tongue out at her. "You're a pervert and that's that!" he mimicked, mockingly, before rising to his feet. He let out a sigh. "Damn those twins. No one met us here, either!"

"Honestly…I bet they're doing this on purpose!" Izumi muttered.

Takuya rolled his eyes. "Not everyone is as evil as you, Izumi," he said, muttering mostly to himself.

"Oh, I'm _evil_ now?"

"Well, aren't you two awake in the morning?"

The two turned to the speaker, finding Swanmon carrying a Botamon in her wings. "Would you like to help feed the babies?"

They followed her eagerly, without any argument.

--------------------------------------------

"Aww…they're cuter than…than…" Takuya grinned as he stared at the Poyomon he held. "I don't know what they're cuter than, but they're definitely cuter than Shinya when he was little!"

Izumi rolled her eyes. "And that's because…?"

"Well, think about it. Would you think a red-blotched, shriveled raisin is cute?" Takuya asked her, sending her a pointed stare.

Again, the girl rolled her eyes. "Biased judgment."

"No, no, seriously. I was looking forward to having a baby brother up to that point."

"I'm supposed to believe you?"

"You can ask my mom!"

"Why ask when I know the truth?" Izumi turned around, so her back was to him.

Takuya growled and turned around as well. "Fine! Be that way!" he muttered, taking the bottle from the Poyomon. "Sheez, crazy woman!" Takuya shot Izumi a glare before moving to the next baby.

"_Ah…ah…Waaaah_…!"

He winced. Izumi raised an eyebrow, turned around to look at Takuya. "What…did you do?" she called out, putting down the baby digimon she held back into its crib and making her way over. "Takuya…"

"I know, I know! I don't need your help," he snapped, picking the Poyomon back up. "Ah…now, um…hush…er…little…blob…" Takuya scowled as the cries increased in volume. "Okay, okay! Help! What did I do wrong?"

Izumi took the digimon from his arms. "Aw, that's okay…he's just a big meanie," she cooed, gently rocking it back and forth. "Right…? A big. Big. Jerky. Meanie." Izumi enunciated every word softly, and as the cries subsided, she continued to rock the Poyomon, then transferred it into Takuya's arms, where it dribbled on his shirt.

The goggle boy sent Izumi a glare. "You two planned that, didn't you?"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Why?" Takuya muttered. "I didn't do anything wrong." He set the Poyomon back in the crib and took out his D-Tector. "I'm calling Kouichi."

"Go ahead."

Takuya stopped. "What's with you?"

Izumi sniffed. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

_No need to get snappy_. Takuya walked outside, a scowl on his face. "Kou…ICHI!" he yelled.

"_Holy sh-"_ Silence ensued on the other end. Then: "_oot_. _No, never mind_. _Takuya! Sorry we couldn't meet up with you yesterday_. _A_…_a Bakemon held us back_."

Takuya frowned at the sound of Kouji's voice. _I thought this was Kouichi's D-Tector_. _Meh, Kouji must've taken it_. "Where are you, a graveyard? That's the only reason you would leave me here with Ms. Snappy."

"_Ooh, got her mad again, did you?_" A chuckle. "_Izumi, what'd he do now?_"

Takuya looked over his shoulder and saw Izumi holding her hand out expectantly. Reluctantly, he handed his D-Tector over.

"Kouji, I'll give you _five seconds_ to explain why you aren't over here. A Bakemon doesn't cut it!"

"_Okay, okay! The truth is_…_Junpei and I were playing Tic-tac-toe to see who was smarter_. _Tomoki's counting up the results_. _But that was only at night, I'm serious! Uh…but really, a Bakemon _did _hold us up_. _You can even ask Kouichi! No lie!_" Kouji insisted. But the slight hesitation made the other two wonder…

Izumi beat the goggle boy to it. "Okay, so what did the Bakemon do, exactly?" she asked, shooting Takuya a look of askance.

He shook his head. There was no way they were held up by a Bakemon. It didn't seem possible.

Kouji seemed serious, though. "_We were asking him directions_. _Kouichi said a good way to cool off was to walk instead of take the fast way – he wouldn't let _any _of us digivolve_. _So we came across a graveyard and realized we were lost_. _And then we asked the Bakemon for directions_…"

"Okay…"

"_But the dumb digimon wouldn't say anything worth listening to_. _But you know how patient Kouichi is_ – _he wouldn't stop until he got something from Bakemon_. _It took Tomoki threatening to ice the graveyard for Bakemon to talk_. _We figured out we were heading the wrong direction_. _And we turned around in time to make it back to where we were before_. _So we're back at the start, thanks! How about you two?_"

"We're…at…the Village of Beginnings. Like you told us to be," Takuya hissed, trying to control his anger. "Why couldn't you just digivolve?"

"_Kouichi wouldn't let us_."

"_AFTER_ asking the Bakemon for directions!" Izumi and Takuya exploded together.

"_SORRY!_ _He wouldn't even let us then_. _Blame Junpei_, _because _he's_ the one who insulted my sushi!_" Kouji snapped back.

"Eh, don't blame him," Takuya muttered, and Izumi smothered a laugh.

"_WHAT WAS THAT, GOGGLE-BRAIN?_"

Back to being angry at their lack of punctuality, Takuya snapped, "ARE YOU GOING TO COME HERE OR WHAT?"

"_Oh_. _We were hoping you could meet us_…_up North_? _Say…Autumn Leaf Fair…?_"

"What? In the cold?" Izumi murmured, hands crossing to cover her arms as she cringed.

"_Yeah_. _We started walking that way_."

"WALKING? DAMMIT JUST DIGIVOLVE!"

"_I TOLD you, Kouichi won't let us!_" Kouji whined.

_That's a lie! THAT'S A LIE!_ "KOUICHI, HURRY UP AND DIGIVOLVE!" Takuya screamed.

Izumi rolled her eyes. "Fine, Kouji, but you _better_ meet us there, or we're leaving!"

"_No, no, we'll meet you there…_" He chuckled. "_We'll definitely meet you there_."

"They aren't going to meet us there," Takuya declared, throwing his D-Tector to the floor. "Come on, let's just go home!"

"No, Takuya. We won't sink to their level." Izumi picked up his D-Tector and handed it to him. "No," she said again, in a murmur. "I've got a better idea."

His eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"

"We'll get there early and use the terrain to our advantage!" she declared, slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I'm sure we can recreate that snow catapult!"

"Sn-snow catapult?" Takuya echoed. Then, grinning, he nodded. "Right! Of course! Izumi, you're brilliant!" he cheered.

"Of cou–" Izumi turned to look at him in surprise. "Uh…r-right," she mumbled, flushing red. "Let's just go!"

--------------------------------------------

"You were _bluuuushing!_" Takuya teased after they had said their goodbyes to the baby digimon and Swanmon. "Blushing! Come on, admit it!"

Izumi, still red-faced, looked away. "Takuya…_drop_ it!"

"Okay," he laughed, pulling his D-Tector out. "But you were…!" he added, running forward and quickly digivolving and taking to the skies.

The girl stopped and stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, just you _wait_, Takuya!" she hissed, looking around. _There's got to be a way_…

"What, are you giving up already?"

She looked back up at the digimon, finding him hovering in the air, smirking down at her. Izumi scowled and took out her own D-Tector. "Don't get so cocky! _I'm_ the wind!" she snapped, digivolving into Zephyrmon. "Your flight today will depend on how _I_ feel!"

"Oh no, Izumi let it go to her head," he sighed.

"Shut up!" she snapped, sending a gust of wind his way – a Hurricane Gale, only toned down a bit so it wasn't as effective. "Take that, you big dinosaur!" Zephyrmon yelled before quickly flying the other way. She couldn't lose now, not on her own turf. "Last one there is a–"

She stopped, looked over her shoulder.

He wasn't even trying.

Zephyrmon rushed ahead, to the Autumn Leaf Fair. He didn't have to try. She would crush him with all her might if need be.

--------------------------------------------

"Snowball twenty-nine!" Izumi pointed to the Datamon. "Wheel the catapult around. He'll be coming from that direction."

He complied, and she went back to placing her snowball down besides the previously made ones. They were all rough, crudely-formed, with the indents of her fingers. She didn't care – that meant they were harder. All the better to hit Takuya with.

"Who'll be coming from what direction?"

Izumi turned around in surprise. "Takuya!"

The next thing she new, her face was covered in powdery snow.

"Yeah. I figured you'd try and pull something like this!" he laughed, cheerfully, backing away several feet.

She wasted no time in retaliating, picking a snowball from her pile and hitting his goggles with it. Yes, her aim was off, but whatever. Izumi sent another snowball flying at his shoes.

The barrage didn't last for very long – she wasted her remaining twenty-seven snowballs easily, even hitting a poor Datamon that crossed their path. When they finished, Izumi gave a groan, fell backwards into the snow and shut her eyes.

Takuya walked over to her, placed his hands on his knees as he squatted down. "You finished…?"

"For a lifetime. Next time, remind me to just digivolve."

He let out a laugh at that and sat down. "They aren't here, as usual."

"I'm so tired this isn't funny!" Izumi sat up, looked at Takuya furiously. "Which bonehead's idea was it to come here?"

"Kou…ji?" Takuya frowned and nodded. "Kouji's. Why?" He gave a start, seeing Izumi pull out her D-Tector. "Uhm, Izumi…"

"KOUJI MINAMOTO WHERE ARE YOU?" Izumi snapped.

There was a squeak, and another squeak, and a laugh, and then an 'ow.' Finally: "Kouji's too scared to talk to you, Izumi," Tomoki mumbled sheepishly.

"Well, Tomoki, tell him that when he _gets_ here, I'm going to _kill_ him!" she shrieked. "Why aren't you all here yet?"

"We're eating…at the Burgermon village."

"Whaaat?" Takuya whined, patting his stomach. "That's not fair!"

Izumi sent him a glare. "Well, we're coming over!"

"No, no, just stay put!" Tomoki insisted. "Uh…we'll see you in–"

"We're hungry and we're coming over," Izumi said, voice low and dangerous, "and that's that. Goodbye, Tomoki."

Takuya gazed at Izumi in surprise. "Izumi…?"

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

She wasn't yelling at him or anything.

Takuya grinned sheepishly and held out his hand. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Uh…"

"Can we start over again?"

Izumi bent forward, to suppress a laugh. "A-alright, Takuya," she murmured, giving him her most serious look. "But this is the last time…"

"Fine by me! Now let's go get those burgers. I'm kind of hungry…"

"YOU PIG!"

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A/N-

Short, spontaneous. P This is why I was afraid to update. Help, anyone? Izumi's personality is as bad as the weather nowadays. Takuya's is always like that. And everyone else, well…meh. I'll see if I can fix everything, because I don't especially like the pacing of the story. Overall, slow, and the individual events are rushed. I might take the rest of the week reworking the story, so don't kill me. You can expect the next chapter around the beginning of July.

I think I rushed overall. Don't kill me if there's stuff missing...tell me instead, please!

Review or PM or Flame.


	6. U Turn Around

Disclaimer- This one can never own digimon.

* * *

Part 6: U Turn, (I Turn) Around

* * *

"Did we _have_ to walk?" Takuya groaned, leaning heavily on the tree branch in his hand.

Izumi walked past him and looked around. "Don't complain. It wouldn't have been so bad if you'd just left that behind like I told you to, Takuya." She let out a soft sigh. "We missed lunch…but I'm not so hungry anymore."

"Yeah, well –" Takuya clamped his mouth shut. Then: "Well…well I am!" _I've gotta be careful about what I say_, he thought, shivering. The last thing he wanted was to mess this chance up.

Izumi noticed. "You okay?"

He let out a nervous laugh and let go of the branch as he reached up to scratch his head. "Well –"

"Takuya –"

The branch hit his head.

There was a sigh. "You _goggle_ brain…"

"_Takuya_…"

_His eyes opened_. Izumi_…_huh? _Takuya sat up and looked around_. _He found himself leaning against a tree, green grass all around him, more trees behind him_…_and the sky was turning dark_. "_What_–"

"_You goggle brain!_" _Izumi huffed and rose to her feet_. "_I can't believe you slept the entire time_…"

"_Sorry_…" _He let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his neck_. "_Can I make it up to you_?"

"_Aren't you hungry_?" _she asked, smiling at him, obviously amused_.

"_Eh…what about you_?" _Takuya frowned, as the next second, there was no Izumi. Instead, he turned around to find a giant burger behind him, inching closer_…

"_Takuya_…" _the burger grumbled loudly_.

Since when did burgers talk? _He didn't like talking food. He didn't like _moving _food either_. "_Yeah_?" _Although…his hunger was getting to him, and he didn't really mind, especially considering it was a burger_…

"TAKUYA! STOP SLOBBERING!" Izumi yelled, snapping him out of his dream. Takuya rolled out of the bed, falling into the tight space between the bed and the wall. He groaned as he tried to get on his feet.

_What kind of dream was that_? Scowling, he got onto his feet and put a hand on his stomach. "I'm hungry…"

"Well don't you think _I_ am too?" she whined. "But no! I had to be _nice_ and wait for you to wake up!" Izumi pouted and turned around. "How can you sleep for so long…?"

He let out a laugh. _Déjà vu, they say_. _Or do they?_ "W-well…sorry?"

"Are you sorry, or are you not sure if you're sorry?" Izumi asked, still not looking at him.

"Well…what do you think?" Takuya asked, sighing.

She turned around with a smile. "Let's get our food!"

"Agreed," he mumbled, placing a hand on his growling stomach. "I must've half-fainted from hunger."

"Knowing you, it was probably all hunger!" Izumi laughed, eyes shining delightedly. "Your head is too hard to sustain an injury from any hit."

"Oh yeah?" Takuya asked, mock-glaring at her.

"Of course!"

There was a loud growl, and both groaned.

"Let's…just hurry up and eat," Takuya mumbled. "I don't know how we survived without any food…"

"Must've been too caught up in arguing," Izumi mumbled. "I think it was this way…" After exiting the hut, they took a left…

…and wandered…

…and wandered…

…and wandered, until Takuya threw his hands in the air with a cry of desperation. "WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

"Where are Kouji and the others…?" Izumi groaned. "I thought they said they were here…"

"Where's the restaurant?" Takuya shrieked.

Izumi half-sighed, half-groaned. "Why can't those idiots just stay in one place?"

"WHERE'S THE – FOOD!" Takuya suddenly cried happily, running forward towards the restaurant. "FOOD! Finally, FOOD!" He stopped at the entrance, positively beaming, until he tried the door.

Takuya stopped and frowned when the door didn't budge, and then, smiling uneasily, tried the door again.

"No," he groaned, sinking to the floor beside the door. "No, we're too late!"

_I can't believe this_, Izumi thought, sinking down to the floor, tired, beside one of the houses. _Why can't anything go right for us? This is the last time I'm listening to Kouji_. _Next time, they'll listen to _me. She shot Takuya a glare. "Quiet! You're too loud. I'm _tired_."

"I'm _hungry_," Takuya whined.

"Well I am, too! So we can just figure this out, I'm sure," Izumi said, trying to sound positive as she rose to her feet. Then, letting out a cry, she sank back down. "Forget it!" she wailed. "I don't want to think! I just want to eat!"

"That makes the three of us."

_Why is his voice so deep?_ "Takuya, don't make your voice funny," Izumi grumbled, making a face. "And there's only two of us. Stop hallucinating."

He looked at her in surprise. "I didn't say that! This guy did!"

Slowly, Izumi turned around and nearly jumped. "P-Petaldramon? But we took care of you…a…long time ago…"

The digimon, resting across from Takuya (who was scrambling towards Izumi now), began grumbling.

"Sorry, we couldn't understand that," Takuya said, looking curious.

"I said those darn Burgermon have it in their head that they don't have to serve me since I can't fit into the restaurant," he snapped, moodily looking away.

Izumi raised an eyebrow. "And you aren't attacking them…why?"

"Ah, so I _have_ to be a rude jerk just to get burgers?" A snort. "The way you humans think. So stereotypical!"

"Well, you _did_ do that last time," Izumi pointed out, sending him a glare.

Petaldramon returned the glare. "But _I_, dear girl, have had a change of heart!"

"You have a heart – ow!" Takuya squeaked, turning away and nursing his injured shoulder. _Izumi hits hard, Izumi hits HARD!_ "I – I mean…so why isn't the restaurant…open?"

There was a sniff from the digimon. "They wouldn't serve me. So everyone within a block's distance of me ran off to the other parts of town, just in case I went rampant." He made a face as he said the last part. "Those darn Burgermon…being stereotypical…"

"He must've read one of our school textbooks," Takuya whispered to Izumi. "He's acting really smart. You think anyone brought one with them when they came last time? I'm sure Tomoki could have hidden one under his hat – OW!" A second later, Takuya was back to nursing his arm, sniffing. _And she hit in the same spot_…

Izumi rose to her feet with a sigh. "Well then, we'll just get you some burgers once we find a place," she told Petaldramon. "If we ever find a place…"

Jumping to his feet, Takuya jabbed his thumb at his chest. "Leave it to me!"

"I don't know, I might die if I do," Izumi mumbled. "What with your sense of direction…"

"Hey, hey, hey! I may be a goggle brain, but I have an _innate_ sense of direction…or…was it destruction?" Takuya mumbled, frowning. His mother had said that once, but he could never remember which word it was. Maybe both. "Either way, I _promise_ to get you those burgers! Eh…" He sent Petaldramon a large, fake smile. "…both of you…"

Izumi rolled her eyes. "Alright, just hurry."

"It's at the other end of town," Petaldramon said suddenly, beady eyes focused on Takuya. "Just continue down this road and take a right."

"Uh…okay!" Takuya saluted, then dashed down the road.

Izumi shook her head. "He won't last," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "There's no way."

* * *

"No!" Kouichi said vehemently, snatching back the D-Tector. "We can't digivolve!"

"WHY NOT?" Junpei and Kouji screamed in unison.

Kouichi remained unperturbed, and instead motioned to Tomoki. "Explain, if you will…?"

The younger boy gave an affirmative nod. "You see," he began, drawing a little diagram on the sand. "We're here, at the beach! Toucanmon's restaurant is over there. The Burgermon are over here – we have a way to go. If we walk, we'll make it there in time!"

"In time for _what_?" Kouji spat. "Didn't you tell them we were already there?"

"He also said that we'll be _meeting_ them," Kouichi snapped. "No matter what Izumi said, you will all repeat this story to her: we left the Burgermon village, we went the wrong way, and we backtracked. All this took a very long time, sorry. We have a very bad sense of direction, sorry. Now meet us at the Flame Terminal. Bye." He drew a breath and sent the other two boys a glare. "You got that?"

Kouji and Junpei exchanged upset frowns.

"You know what?" Junpei muttered. "Why are we fighting each other? I mean, together we can just overpower them…_both_ of them…"

Kouji smirked and took a step forward. "I agree."

Tomoki shook his head, understanding where this was going.

Kouichi took out his own D-Tector. "I'm the one with the D-Tectors, you morons," he snapped, quickly digivolving into Lowemon and sending a menacing glare at the two boys.

Kouji and Junpei exchanged glances. Then, whistling, both retreated, back to marching towards the Burgermon village.

_

* * *

Was it left or right? I can't remember_…! Takuya turned around, wishing Petaldramon was following him. _AUGH!_ "All right! We'll do this by chance!" Takuya shut his eyes and turned around once…

…twice…

…a few…more times…

_Dammit I'm so dizzy_, the boy thought, collapsing onto the floor and placing a hand on his stomach. "The food…smells so good…!" His eyes opened, and he sniffed the air. _Smell…? It's coming from…that way!_ Takuya followed his nose, stumbling towards a large restaurant. He stopped at the door to read the sign that was posted there.

"'We promise you the most romantic dinner ever! By…reservation only'?" he exclaimed, jumping back. _Oops_. _I was supposed to go right after all!_ Takuya let out a small laugh. "They'll never know!" he told himself confidently, turning around and heading to the _other_ restaurant. And yet…

_Reservation, huh? Romantic…dinner?_ He bit his lip and raced forward. He would get the burgers. And then he'd make that reservation…

"Ahhh…Ten – HOLD IT!" Takuya pointed to the menu. "TOMOKI BURGERS? What happened to TAKUYA burgers?"

"Well, Tomoki burgers are what saved us from that dratted Petaldramon that time," the Burgermon at the register told him, looking at Takuya as if the boy were nuts. "And…I don't recall any _Takuya_ burgers…"

"Alright, alright…ten – no…twenty Tomoki burgers with _Izumi_ onion sauce?" Takuya scowled. _Even Junpei made it on board! Junpei salads, huh? Looks like Kouji and I are the only ones who didn't make it_. "And ten Papa Burgermon burgers."

The Burgermon frowned. "Say…you don't plan to feed that dratted Petaldramon, do you?"

"Petaldramon? _No_, I plan to eat! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," the boy whined, placing a hand on his stomach. "And I'll take four drinks, too. Strawberry lemonade."

"Coming right up!"

"TAKUYA! You're a _lifesaver_," Izumi declared, smiling happily at the burger before biting into it. She looked at Takuya and frowned, watching him drop a pile of burgers in front of Petaldramon and walk back towards her automatically, as if something were on his mind. She asked.

"Huh…?" Takuya looked at her, a dumb smile on his face. "What'd you say? I wasn't paying attention."

Izumi sighed. _I noticed_. "Is something on your mind?" she repeated.

He shook his head and pointed down the road. "Since I ate…I'm going to look around…see if I can find Kouji…or the others. We should wait a day or two," he mumbled, looking away quickly. "Y-you know, just in case they come back?"

Much to his relief, she nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah…that's true, huh?" Izumi took another bite of her burger.

"You remember your way back to that room, right?"

"Of course," Izumi murmured, looking up at him with a frown. "Takuya, are you –"

"Petaldramon, don't go on a rampage," Takuya suddenly snapped, glaring at the digimon. "I don't want to get in trouble. Izumi…" He turned to look at her, a grin tugging the corner of his lips up. "I'll meet you there!"

Izumi let out a frustrated sigh and stared at her drink. "Really…what's _with_ him…?"

Petaldramon mumbled something.

"What was that?" Izumi asked sharply, sending him a glare.

"Nothing," the digimon grumbled, nudging his burgers before answering the growl of his stomach. _It's just love_…

He stopped in front of the door. A hand shot out, grasping the handle. Slowly, it retreated – only centimeters back – and then shot out again. Takuya threw the door open and looked around.

Empty.

"Hello…?" he called out, looking around. There were red velvet seats wherever he looked, pulled up against marble white tables. Two seats for every table.

_That won't do_, the goggle boy realized with a frown. "Hello…?" he called out again, only slightly (more like very) distracted by the design of the restaurant.

It was nice and fancy. He liked it already.

"Takuya…!"

"Eh?" He turned around and jumped back. "Woah…Papa Burgermon! Say, about last time – I hope you didn't have too much trouble cleaning up the mess Kouji and I left in your kitchen…"

"No, no! Not at all! What brings you here?" the digimon asked, beaming up at Takuya.

The goggle boy bit his lip. "I need to reserve this place…this _entire _place tomorrow – morning, evening, noon – _whatever_. I just need it sometime tomorrow. Please…?" He clapped his hands together and bowed his head.

Papa Burgermon stared at him in surprise. "Well, there's no need to go so far as to beg…!" he exclaimed, walking up to Takuya. "You guys really helped us when we were in a pinch. We owe you!"

"You mean –"

"The entire place is yours for the entire day! We'll serve the food and leave," the digimon promised, beaming up at Takuya happily. "We're glad to do business with you, Takuya!"

The boy let out a relieved sigh and nodded. "Alright, alright, that's good. So, if you don't mind, I was wondering if you could…I don't know…" _Izumi's in for a surprise_…

* * *

A/N-

I FORGOT KOUJI & Co.'s part! That was why it was short. Sorry! (Added it).

The next chapter was supposed to be this chapter, but apparently that doesn't work out when I'm writing. Yeesh, I thought I had this story down well (never thought so, never did).

I keep forgetting to thank people. Sorry! Thank you: **TrialAndError123456, milkshakelvr, asdf, MoD366**

**It turns out I won't be rewriting the story. I'd never finish, if I did, and it'd be different. And my head is burning with ideas all over the place, so I'm just not going to do it. Maybe as bonus chapters.**

Story should only take one or two more chapters (YES!). I'm really bad about finishing stories; I always get happy that I don't have to write anymore and I give a sloppy ending. .:whistles:. (Don't expect anything special?)

Review or PM or Flame.


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